When is a self-employed woman entitled to parental care?

A self-employed person has the right to maternity, paternity and parental leave and the associated benefits if she is insured for parental care under ZSDP-1 (Article 8) - this means that she has the status of a person who independently carries out an activity in the Republic of Slovenia and pays contributions, including the parental care contribution. The key is:

• The maternity leave must be opened no later than 29 days before the expected date of birth (the day before the start of maternity leave),
• contributions must be paid regularly.

Maternity leave and maternity benefit

Duration and onset

• Maternity leave lasts 105 days.
• It usually begins 28 days before the expected date of delivery, but no later than the day of birth if leave was not taken before the birth.
• The application for leave and compensation must be submitted to the CSD no more than 60 days before the expected date of birth and no later than the start of the leave.

Amount of maternity benefit

Base = average of insurance bases (of which parental care contributions were paid) in the last 12 months prior to application. Compensation for full absence from work = 100% of the base. Important limitations:

• At least: the compensation must not be lower than 55% of the minimum wage in the Republic of Slovenia. Minimum gross wage 2025 = EUR 1,277.72, 55% ≈ EUR 702.75 gross.
• Maximum (for most benefits): the payment may not exceed 2.5 times the average gross salary in the Republic of Slovenia; for maternity benefit, the limitation is regulated slightly differently, but in practice the same upper limit is used as for parental benefit.

Parental leave and parental allowance

a) Duration and transfer. The latest amendments to the ZSDP-1 have changed the duration and the non-transferable part:

• Each parent is entitled to 160 days of parental leave (320 days in total).
• The 60 days are non-transferable for each parent.
• Each parent can transfer 100 days to the other.

In practice, this means that if the father transfers all 100 days to the mother, the mother can use 260 days of parental leave, and the father still has his own 60 non-transferable days, which he can use until the child is 8 years old.

b) Parental leave:

• occurs directly after maternity leave,
• can be used during full or partial absence from work, in one or more parts, until the child is 8 years old.

c) Amount of parental benefit:

• the basis is the same as for maternity leave (average of the basis in the last 12 months),
• must not be lower than 55% of the minimum wage,
• may not be higher than 2.5 times the average salary in the Republic of Slovenia.

Author: Danijela Uran, RRA Koroška doo – SPOT Consulting Koroška